


Once Upon a Lifetime

by galactic-pirates (stillsearching47)



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: A Monthly Rumbelling, F/M, Semi-Public Sex
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-10
Updated: 2017-01-10
Packaged: 2018-09-16 15:00:07
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,170
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9277157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stillsearching47/pseuds/galactic-pirates
Summary: Written forA Monthly Rumbelling: January.Belle French's life revolves around books. During the day she works as a librarian, and in the evenings she writes stories of her own. Everyday she watches Mr. Gold lock up his shop and everyday she swears that she'll wave or do something, but she never does. If this were one of her stories then Mr. Gold would have noticed her watching him, and one day their eyes would meet and he would confess that he liked her as well. The problem was, life wasn’t a story. If it was, then Belle would have written herself a happy ending a long time ago.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Public/Semi Public Sex.
> 
> This fic also uses a prompt I liked that didn’t get picked, for the Great Rumbelle Blow-Off, which was _Librarian!Belle is a shy woman who secretly writes erotic stories_.

Belle French sighed softly to herself as she locked up the library. The days were starting to get shorter as autumn turned to winter, and she shivered as the breeze teased the hair escaping from her practical pony-tail. It tickled her neck as she lingered in the doorway, her gaze going across the road to the pawnshop down the street. Leaves skittered on the ground, as she half-hid behind the open door, watching Mr. Gold lock up his shop.

She could see the breeze was tugging at his hair as well, the strands rippling. He had his dark overcoat slung over his arm, and leant heavily on his cane as he strode round the side of the shop to the alley where he parked his dark Cadillac. Belle sighed again and pushed the door closed, turning the key in the lock with a definitive click. She glanced around the library, but it had been a slow day and everything was already in it’s place. With nothing else to do, she made her way up the spiral metal staircase to her apartment.

The moment she was inside, Belle wandered over and pressed the power button on her computer, slumping down in the chair in front of the monitor. Everyday she swore that she would wave, or do something other than stare like a stalker, and everyday she just stood there hiding behind the door. If this were a romance story then Mr. Gold would have noticed her watching him, and one day their eyes would meet and he would confess that he’d been watching her too, and they would all live happily ever after.

The problem was, life wasn’t a story. If it was, then Belle would have written herself a happy ending because they were something of her trademark. Not everybody who loved to read, also loved to write, but Belle considered herself a fan of the written word generally. Books had been her friends growing up, and they were certainly her best companions now. In fiction anything could happen, and everything happened for a reason, which just wasn’t true in reality. In real life there were no guarantees.

Her writing had always been something of a hobby until the advent of the internet. She still didn’t know quite what had possessed her to publish her first story. Not long after she had hit post, the fear had hit her, she was certain that everyone was going to laugh. However, before she could take it down someone had posted a nice comment, and so daringly she had left the story up and even posted a second one. That second story had led to another, which had led to another, and now to her utter disbelief she had quite a following.

It was her ‘fans’ which had led to a change in her writing habits. Before if a situation had turned ‘steamy’, she had faded to black and moved on. That was usually the end of a story anyway as the two characters had confessed their love. However, she’d had some ideas for stories with an established relationship and people were clamoring to ‘peek behind the curtain’ so to speak and one day she had obliged.

She had felt sick after hitting publish on her first erotic story, and jumpy as if everyone who came into the library would know what she had done. However, the world hadn’t ended and just like with her regular stories, one erotic story had led to another. Belle chewed on her lip as the computer finished booting and she opened her files. She had an erotic scene to write tonight, for a story she wanted to finish by the weekend, but she was having trouble with it.

The scene wasn’t her usual fare, it was kinkier than normal which made her even more uncomfortable than usual. Belle stood up and paced, shooting the computer thoughtful looks every now and then. She snorted, it was a good job nobody lived beneath her because her incessant pacing when she was stuck, would probably have driven them crazy by now, especially as she wrote almost every evening and weekend.

That was her life, her job at the library and writing her stories. She went to the diner a few times a week, but that was the extent of her social life and most of the time she liked it that way. Other times like now, her thoughts turned dark as she wondered what the hell she was doing writing romance or erotica when she didn’t have any personal experience with either. Her mind flashed back to Mr. Gold as he locked up the shop and Belle grimaced, she tried hard not to fictionalize her fantasies about him but desperate times, called for desperate measures.

Belle sat back down in front of the computer, her fingers hovering over the keys. Getting started was always the hardest part. She just needed a starting point for the scene and then it would flow from there. She closed her eyes and tried to picture it. It was night-time, so later than it had been when she had seen him tonight. The stars would be twinkling in the sky, the world illuminated by the light of the moon and the sparse streetlights dotted around.

The problem was her protagonists knew each other, and she had never spoken a word to Mr. Gold, she didn’t even know his first name. Belle slammed the heel of her hand against her forehead, honestly she was so pathetic crushing on the man. He had got her attention by facing off against a man twice his size. He had been so unafraid and she had been fascinated by that confidence. After that she had started watching him, and the more she learned, the more interested she became.

It was simple, for the sake of the story, she would just need to pretend. Everything in her rebelled against giving Mr. Gold a fake first name, so she was going to have to improvise and likewise she couldn’t type her own name, even if she was picturing a more confident version of herself. She would change the names back to her original characters, once the erotic scene was written. With that decided, she closed her eyes again, and mentally drew the scene. Mr. Gold exiting his shop, and her fantasy self striding along the sidewalk towards him. Now she just needed to change the setting to fit the preceding scene.

_“Can you see them?” Lacey gasped between breaths as she ran._

_“We lost them ages ago,” Gold told her._

_Lacey careened to an abrupt halt, leaning against the brick wall of the alley. Gold watched as she doubled over before forcing herself to stand up straight, desperately trying to catch her breath. She glared daggers at him. “You bastard.”_

_Gold shrugged, a smirk playing across his lips. “What can I say, I was enjoying the view.”_

_He slunk closer, trapping Lacey between the wall and his body. They had been dancing around each other for weeks, and with the adrenaline of the chase running through his veins, he wasn’t in the mood to wait any longer. He bent his head, his lips an inch from hers. He could feel her breath against his skin, and knew she could feel his. Gold ached to kiss her but he wouldn’t, not until he was sure that she wanted this as much as he did._

Belle nodded in satisfaction and sat back. That wasn’t a bad opening, it needed work but then she thought that about all her stories, even after they had been published. She could always improve, and she always thought she could do better. At least she had the start now and everything was supposed to flow from here. She knew how the scene was supposed to go, she just needed to find the words.

_Lacey lunged, capturing Gold’s lips with her own. Gold didn’t miss a beat, this was no tentative first kiss, it was all teeth and tongues and rising heat. Why had they waited so long to do this? He pressed against Lacey more firmly, feeling her curve her leg around him, holding him close to her. Gold groaned and bucked his hips, he was hard already and he knew that she could feel it. Lacey moaned into his mouth and wrenched her head away, her lips swollen from their furious kisses._

_“Come on.” Lacey grabbed the lapel of his jacket and pulled him further into the alley, until they were swallowed by the shadows of the surrounding buildings._

_Gold glanced back to the mouth of the alley, the sidewalk was gleaming silver, illuminated clearly by the moon and the surrounding streetlights. The alley was darker but not that dark, if anyone passed by, and looked down the alley, they would be able to see them. However, as Lacey pulled him closer to her, resuming their previous position, Gold found that he couldn’t bring himself to care. If somebody wanted to get their thrills from this, then let them._

Belle chewed on her lip, she wasn’t at all sure that made sense. The two protagonists were quite the thrill seekers, which was why they were being chased in the first place. When she had outlined the story, the semi-public sex had made sense but now she was second-guessing it. This was the problem she had with writing characters so different from herself, her logic wouldn’t be their logic and then she wasn’t sure whether it made sense or not.

_“This would be easier with one of your dresses,” Gold grunted, his tongue swirling around Lacey’s neck._

_Lacey laughed throatily. “I don’t see why. We can both have our pants round our ankles.”_

_Her fingers fumbled between them, deftly unbuckling his belt and undoing the button. Teasingly, her fingers stroked lightly down his clothed cock, before abruptly she yanked. The zipper slipped down and Gold felt a draft as his trousers and boxers hit the ground. Gold growled and grabbed for Lacey’s skin-tight leather trousers, but to his despair he couldn’t find how they were fastened. Honestly, he had wondered if she had painted them on and now he was certain that she had._

_“Touch me,” Lacey commanded, her hands replacing Gold’s at her waist._

_That was a command Gold was more than happy to obey. Lacey’s t-shirt was as form-fitting as her trousers. Gold wanted to peel it off, feel her soft skin beneath his fingers, lick and suck and torment her with his teeth. He wanted to bury his head between her thighs until she screamed, but they were in an alley and this wasn’t the time or the place. He could spread her out on a bed, and bathe every inch of her with his tongue later._

Belle blushed as she typed Gold’s thoughts. She pictured the smirk playing across Mr. Gold’s lips, the sinful smug look he would sport. The man loved having the upper hand, she had seen him enjoy that, and it wasn’t hard to imagine he’d revel in knowing what pleasure he could bring. Belle bit her lip, guilt rising in her once more. This was why she tried not to picture Mr. Gold when writing her erotic stories, it felt like crossing a line.

She groaned and eyed the wall, banging her head against it would be so cliché but she was feeling suitably dramatic right now. Honestly she didn’t know why she wrote these stories, quite often they left her feeling so pathetic. She wanted to live a life of adventure, to see the world, or at least pluck up enough courage to ask the object of her crush out for a drink. However, she did nothing. She wanted to be brave but her courage always deserted her at the crucial moment.

“Well I can give these two a happy ending at least.” Belle sighed, glaring at the screen in an attempt to refocus.

_Gold mouthed at Lacey’s breasts through her t-shirt. He felt a whoosh of fabric and his hand darted down, slipping between Lacey’s legs. He choked, his fingers sliding easily. She was so very wet already. Lacey hitched a leg round him, her heel pressing against his arse. Involuntarily Gold bucked his hips, and groaned deeply as his cock slid against her._

_“That’s right baby,” Lacey whispered. Her tongue darting out to lick his ear. “Fuck me hard.”_

Belle grimaced, her face screwing up as she tried to work out the logistics. Rolling her eyes, she stood up and moved over to the wall. She put her back to it and lifted a leg, curving it in mid-air how she had described. There wasn’t a huge height difference between her protagonists, especially when Lacey was wearing heels. Belle groaned and slammed her hand into her forehead again - she was such an idiot.

Lacey wouldn’t be wearing heels and running several city blocks. Belle liked wearing heels herself, she liked the extra height it gave her, even if it hadn’t given her any of the other promised confidence boosts. However, while in the movies women seemed to be able to run, from her experience it seemed like a recipe for a twisted ankle to her. She tried to strive for realism, because she thought that making something realistic didn’t have to detract from the story. She could have both, but it was certainly a headache sometimes.

Then there was the question of protection. It was really something her protagonists should have discussed first, before getting caught up in the moment. Belle bit her lip, perhaps she was wrong about that. They were both thrill seekers, adrenaline junkies supposedly, and so responsibility wasn’t the first thing on their minds. This had to fit with their established characterization after all. Belle sighed, and sat back down. The sooner she finished this scene, the better.

_Gold braced his right hand against the wall, and cupped Lacey’s arse with his left. She wound her arms round his neck and helped raise herself up. Her hand stroked him as she lined them up, before sinking down. Gold groaned and pressed Lacey firmly against the wall. He spared a brief thought, that the brick wall might be rough against her back, but there was really nothing he could do about that. Lacey’s other leg left the floor, wrapping both of them around his waist._

Belle wrinkled her nose. When she had tried to work out the logistics, she had maybe gone a little overboard. She had wanted to describe the scene but really the specifics weren’t as important, as the feelings it evoked. Grumbling to herself, she deleted the last paragraph and took a deep breath. Alright they were both naked from the waist down, both ready, she just needed to get them to ... enjoy themselves.

_“Oh I’ll fuck you,” Gold whispered, his teeth tugging on her neck._

_Lacey moaned and a moment later she was sliding down onto his cock. Gold’s eyes slammed closed and his teeth sunk into his bottom lip, in an effort not to whimper. She felt so good around him. Both of her legs wrapped around his waist, and he rocked against her, trying to get as deep as he could go. His legs shook from the effort and he knew he would be feeling this later, but right now he couldn’t give a fuck._

_“Yes,” Lacey hissed._

_Gold choked, caught between a gasp and a groan as Lacey’s fingers danced around where they were joined, brushing both her clit and his cock. Her head flew back, banging against the brick wall, and he felt her tighten around him._

_“Oh fuck,” Gold swore, thrusting as hard as he could against her, his cock pulsing as he came deep inside her._

_Lacey’s legs drifted down, so she was shakily supporting herself. Gold leant against her, gasping for breath, afraid his legs might collapse if he didn’t. The scrape of a shoe against concrete sent a spike of adrenaline through him. He bent down and yanked up his boxers and trousers, twisting to look towards the mouth of the alley. Almost the second he was decent, someone came into view. Gold held his breath as they walked by, fortunately not looking in their direction._

_“Such a gentleman.” Lacey snorted, rubbing herself against him, where he was covering her body with his own. She reached down and pulled up her own trousers, Gold nearly went cross-eyed when he saw she had forgone underwear._

_“I aim to please,” Gold quipped._

_“Come on.” Lacey brushed past him, and grabbed his hand, tugging to get him to follow her. She shot him a sinful grin. “Let’s go for round two back at your place.”_

Belle made a disgruntled noise but saved the document. She always thought everything she wrote was awful at the time, but with fresh eyes it wasn’t always as terrible as she believed. Plus, she could sent it to her betas if she felt the need. She stood, and stretched, her stomach growling, she padded to the kitchen and looked in the fridge. Belle grimaced, she really needed to go grocery shopping, there was food just nothing she fancied making into a meal.

For a second she contemplated going to the diner, but then a flash of fear shot through her. What if Mr. Gold was there? He occasionally went to the diner for dinner, and he wasn’t predictable about when. Belle felt herself flush bright red, there was no way she could face him just scant hours after fantasizing about him. It was alright, she was sure there was something in the freezer, it was just another normal night at home.

*****

Three days later and Belle thought that she was a prime candidate for a heart attack. She had been reshelving some books, when she had heard someone enter the library. Leaving the book cart, Belle strolled towards the front, coming to an abrupt halt when she saw who was standing in front of the circulation desk - it was Mr. Gold.

Belle took a step back, pressing against the shelf, hiding herself behind it. She chewed on her lip, feeling heat rise to her cheeks. She had been watching Mr. Gold from afar, and had developed quite the pathetic crush, but she could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times they had actually spoken. Well, when he had greeted her with a nod and a ‘Miss French’ and she had stared dumbly at him as he walked away.

Her crippling shyness had prevented her from making friends her whole life. Her heart pounded in her chest, and her breathing quickened. Mr. Gold had never set foot in the library before, he owned over 90% of Storybrooke and could afford to buy all the books he wanted, he didn’t have to borrow them. She knew he lived in the large salmon Victorian, and she had imagined an old fashioned book-lined room, with dark wood shelves reaching from floor to ceiling and wrapping round the walls. However, she could be wrong, he might not be much of a reader. Just because she loved books, didn’t everybody did.

“Grandpa, found it!” a young boy shrieked, barreling out from between two shelves, a book clutched in his hand.

Belle blinked. The boy looked to be about four years old, with messy dark hair and sparkling dark eyes. The family resemblance was clear, but from all her watching of Mr. Gold, she had never known that he had a family. It was like a bucket of cold water had been dumped over her head. She didn’t really know Mr. Gold at all, and didn’t that make her pining after him even more pathetic? Pasting a smile on her face, Belle stepped out from between the shelves.

“Good morning,” Belle greeted. “Hello there.” she smiled at the child. “What book have you chosen?”

“Thomas!” the boy shouted. “Daddy left it.”

“His favorite book series,” Gold elaborated. “He won’t go to sleep without it, and my son Neal left it at home. I’m very relieved that you had a copy.”

“Well then we’d best check it out.” Belle smiled, moving behind the circulation desk. She held out her hand. “I’m going to need that for just a second.”

“Ok,” the boy chirped quite happily.

Gold took the book from him and passed it over. “My grandson Henry,” he said awkwardly.

“Well it’s nice to meet you Henry,” Belle told him, scanning the book and handing it back.

“Is that it?” Gold checked. “I don’t need a library card or anything?”

Belle shrugged. “Ordinarily, but as this is a special occasion, I checked it out on my account. I doubt you’ll be borrowing anything else.” Gold’s eyes narrowed and Belle winced, realizing how bitter she had sounded. She hadn’t intended for it to come out like that. “I hope you’ll enjoy the book Henry,” she added hastily. “You’re welcome back anytime.”

“We might just do that,” Gold said, his keen gaze roving over her expression. He smiled gently down at Henry and held out his hand. “Come on, let’s get you some lunch.”

Belle watched them leave and the moment they were gone, she slumped down into the chair behind her. She put her head in her hands, feeling how hot her cheeks were against her palms. She must look a fright and Mr. Gold probably thought she was a lunatic, perhaps even a good candidate for the mental ward beneath the hospital. A padded cell definitely felt preferable to another encounter like that. What if Mr. Gold did come back but alone next time?

She had just about managed to make conversation, without getting completely tongue-tied, because of Henry. He was a sweet boy, and it was obvious that Mr. Gold adored him. She had seen many expressions cross Mr. Gold’s face, but she’d never seen such a loving, doting expression before. She had a feeling that Henry had his grandfather wrapped pretty firmly, round one of his tiny fingers and that Mr. Gold was perfectly happy to be there.

There must be a story behind it all, otherwise she would have heard that Mr. Gold had a family before now. He had been a fixture in Storybrooke for long enough that nobody remembered things being different. A few people, like Marco, did know about a time before Mr. Gold appeared, and started buying up all the property around town. However, nobody had ever mentioned that Mr. Gold had raised a child here. She was sure if he had, then it would have changed his reputation. Nobody could see him with his family, and call him a monster or the town beast.

Her quick mind started running through the obvious possibilities. She imagined a bitter divorce, losing custody and perhaps then an estrangement from his son which was now being mended. Belle closed her eyes, and mentally slapped herself, what was she doing? This was Mr. Gold’s life, she shouldn’t theory craft a story around his personal life. His life was his own, and speculating would be like invading his privacy. Besides it wasn’t like she would ever learn the truth.

*****

The next day Belle was sitting at the circulation desk, when she heard the door creak. She looked up and her mouth dried, seeing Mr. Gold walking towards her, his cane lightly tapping on the linoleum floor. He was alone, his grandson Henry nowhere to be seen. Her gaze flickered down, but there wasn’t a book clutched in his hands. Belle’s palms started to sweat, what was he doing here?

“Miss French,” Gold greeted neutrally. “I appear to have been remiss. I would like to join the library if now is a convenient time?”

Belle’s mouth opened, but no sound came out. She swallowed, and licked her lips, nodding as she tried to make her throat work. “Now’s fine,” she managed eventually.

Gold nodded. “Good. Is there a form?”

“I ... I ...” Belle struggled.

She was sure that her face must be red as a tomato. She usually just typed everything straight into the computer to create the account, they didn’t have a sophisticated system, but having Mr. Gold’s undivided attention was too much. She was sure that he could read her mind, and would know all her shameful secrets. As if her crippling shyness wasn’t bad enough, she had an extreme case of acute embarrassment.

“Miss French are you well?” Gold’s brow creased in concern.

Belle seized on that like a lifeline. “No,” she blurted out.

Her legs were shaking, and Mr. Gold was looking at her, and she just wanted to get away. Disappearing into a black hole would be extremely convenient right about now. In fact if this was a story, this was the moment where the phone would ring, or there was a sudden scream or explosion, or something to break the tension. Unfortunately reality wasn’t so considerate.

“I see,” Gold said slowly, his eyes narrowing as he looked her over.

“I’m fine,” Belle mumbled instinctively, before immediately cringing. She wanted him to leave, and being defensive wasn’t going to help with that.

“What’s that?” Gold pressed.

“I’m fine!” Belle shrieked, her words echoing around the otherwise empty library.

“Yes, you are doing an excellent impression of someone who is fine,” Gold said sarcastically. “Yesterday I thought you were angry that I hadn’t supported the library. Given my position in town I thought ...”

“You thought wrong,” Belle muttered, feeling sick with embarrassment.

If Mr. Gold had thought she was a candidate for the mental ward after last time, he was definitely sure to think that now. Usually she was just shy, hiding behind her hair, sticking to the corners at gatherings she couldn’t avoid, and staying home the rest of the time. In company she was quiet, but she had never been so tongue-tied around anyone, as she was around Mr. Gold.

She kept her eyes firmly fixed on the floor. “I’m sorry Mr. Gold you just caught me at a bad moment.”

“Very well Miss French,” Gold said crisply. “I’ll return another day.”

Belle heard him leave. Swiftly she moved over to the door and flipped the sign, she was closing early today. She had an urgent need to self-medicate with a good book and some ice-cream. That had been an unmitigated disaster, and she wanted to try and forget about it for a while. She didn’t think she had ever been so embarrassed in her life.

*****

The next morning Belle felt much better. She had comforted herself, by deciding that she had behaved so weirdly, that if Mr. Gold didn’t go before the town council to get her dismissed, then he just wouldn’t come back. As the days passed, and there was no summons to the mayor’s office, Belle’s theory was proven correct. Part of her was sad that she had ruined any chance she might have had with Mr. Gold. The other part knew that she’d never had a chance to begin with and was just glad to put the whole embarrassing mess behind her.

After a couple of days she went back to watching him open and close his shop. She knew it was wrong, but people-watching was hardly a crime and it wasn’t like she followed him around. His shop was opposite the library, she was bound to see him occasionally, and if she timed her opening and closings to match his, well they were just standard 9-5 workdays after all. Everything seemed to be getting back to normal, so a week later it was a very unwelcome surprise to come back after lunch to find Mr. Gold standing at the circulation desk.

“Is this a good moment, Miss French?” Gold asked.

“Yes,” Belle stuttered, feeling herself blush. She hurried behind the desk and turned her attention to the computer, if she just didn’t look at him, then she could do this. “I’ll need your full name, address, date of birth.”

“Have dinner with me?” Gold blurted out.

Belle looked up at him in shock. She blinked, and wondered if she needed to get her hearing checked, or perhaps she had fallen asleep and this was a dream. In any moment her alarm was going to be blaring, just leaving her with the seeds of a new story she could write tonight. She could not possibly have heard Mr. Gold ask her to dinner.

“My son insisted I come and ask, but last week didn’t seem like a good time.” Gold cleared his throat awkwardly. “I promised I would never lie to Neal. I would appreciate it, if you didn’t tell anyone about this.”

“Wait, wait, I’m confused,” Belle stammered, a roaring in her ears. “Did you just ask me out?”

Gold stared resolutely at the floor. “I’ve admired you for some time. I know that there is no way you could ever return my affections, but as I said my son insisted I should ask anyway.”

“I would love to,” Belle blurted out.

She was honestly stunned, she felt like she could be knocked over with a feather. This really was a romance cliché come to life. All this time she had been pining after him, and apparently he had been feeling the same. She couldn’t believe it, and she was still half-sure that she must be dreaming, but for months she had been berating herself for not getting up the courage to ask him out. She wasn’t going to waste this opportunity.

“You want to have dinner with me?” Gold checked, eyeing her disbelievingly.

“I’ve ... I’ve ... admired you for some time as well,” Belle admitted, stealing his words as she couldn’t think of her own. She was a storyteller, but words always failed her when she needed them the most.

Gold stared at her for a moment before minutely shaking his head. “Tonight? Pick you up at 7pm?”

“Sounds wonderful,” Belle agreed.

Still looking shell-shocked, Gold turned and stumbled out of the library. Belle watched him leave, unable to believe what had just happened. A slow smile spread across her face. Her heart pounded, as she momentarily considered all the ways this could go wrong. She had certainly written enough dating disaster stories, to have an idea of the many pitfalls. Shaking her head, Belle tried to push all of that out of her mind.

“Do the brave thing, and bravery will follow,” Belle murmured to herself. Her mother’s motto and one she had failed to live up to her whole life. “Be bold,” Belle added, her fictional self Lacey coming to mind.

She could never be Lacey in reality, she couldn’t go that far, as her innate shyness would stop her. However, maybe, just maybe, she could take a chance. Perhaps it was time to find a life beyond the library and her stories, beyond the written word. She had written countless stories of romance and happy endings, maybe it was time she actually tried to live one of her own.


End file.
